Fab Finds in Genealogy for the Week of 5 February 2012

This week I had the pleasure of a visit from friends I hadn’t seen in five years. The last time we saw each other I was on their home turf in Scandinavia. This time they visited us here in the U.S. I am always overwhelmed by how quickly we catch up, as if time hadn’t passed. I put my life on hold for a few days to get the most out of our visit, since I’m sure it will be another few years before we again have the opportunity.

It’s been a busy week in the genealogy world, especially with all of the announcements at RootsTech. Here are this week’s Fab Finds:

Technology

I know many of you had your lives on hold this week to attend Rootstech. The livestream is still available at the RootsTech website, with a note that “individual videos are coming soon.” Cool. RootsTech 2013 was announced for March 21-23, Salt Lake City. I am already trying to work things out so I can attend next year. Will you be there?

A U.K. based genealogy company, Brightsolid, launchedcensusrecords.com, allowing researchers to search all available U.S. census records. The website is currently a beta version. You can search for your ancestor for free, but to go any further you need a subscription which runs from $7.95 for a “pay as you go credits” service to $34.95 for a 12 month subscription. Out of curiosity I searched for an ancestor whose name was transcribed incorrectly on Ancestry.com, but censusrecords.com has him listed with the correct name. It might be worth running the search even if you have Ancestry.com access.

An article by Brenna Carreon in the Deseret News quotes FamilySearch’s former CEO Jay Verkler as predicting nearly 7 billion people will participate in family history by the year 2060, during the RootsTech Conference this year. This has interesting implications for those considering a career in genealogy. Maybe it’s time to start that genealogy blog you’ve been thinking about.

Of course if you live in the U.S. you probably already know the season three of “Who Do You Think You Are?” kicked off with Martin Sheen this past Friday. Full episodes are available at the nbc.com website.